Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Bringing up Baby... ( Chapter 77 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"Captain, motion on the sonar!"

Captain Corban Dallas looked up from his place at the Comm station to take notice of the lieutenant commander who had hailed him, "What is it, Jonesy? Another pod of whales?'

"No sir," the sonar man replied, "And it's definitely not a sub…it's an object moving very fast our way."

"What kind of sound is it making?" Captain Dallas asked as he moved to stand over the sonarman.

"See for yourself, sir," Lieutenant Jones replied as he activated the main speakers, removing his headphones in the process.

Captain Dallas and every other man on the bridge of the Seawolf Class US Attack Submarine paused to listen to the curious noises that sounded like a large aquatic creature. Dallas frowned as he considered the tones, then asked, "You're sure that isn't whale song we're hearing?"

"No sir," Jones replied, "No whale big enough to make a sound like that can move at the speed this thing is moving. At the rate its headed I make it on a near intercept course to our position. It will pass us by in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five four, three, two…now!"

As he spoke the noises increased in pitch and volume until they were almost deafening, then the submarine itself shook violently as though a massive pressure wave were rocking it from stem to stern, followed by a different pitch in the noises made as the object passing them by, caused by the Doppler shift effect of its near-interception.

"Holy mother of god…what the hell was that?" Dallas swore as he fought to regain his balance.

"I don't know but it's big, sir," Jones replied, "As big as us and doing forty knots at least. It came within a hundred meters of a direct collision, but I think that's due more the fact that we just happened to be in the area when it came to check us out."

"What makes you say that?" Dallas wondered.

"Because I make it as heading on a direct linear course," Jones replied, "I'm feeding the data over to tactical now, let's see what they come up with."

Without turning around, Dallas called out to his First Officer, who was standing by the navigator over the tactical relief chart where he could see them plotting a course by the numbers, "So where is it heading gentlemen? I need some answers!"

"We're plotting it up now, sir," Commander Maguel Rodrigues replied, then looked up sharply and said, "Japan, sir…it's on a direct heading."

"What part of Japan?" Dallas asked with a sinking sensation that came from already knowing the answer but wishing he could be proven wrong for once.

"Tokyo," the Navigations officer replied, "It'll be there in less than five hours at this rate of speed."

"Bring us up to Periscope depth and get me a Satellite feed to Washington!" Dallas snapped, "Tell them it's Priority Channel, Code Green, G-Alert!" Under his breath he softly added, "Six months to retirement and this has to happen. They're not going to like this at the Pentagon…it's been close to twenty years, Damn! I should have known where I'd heard that sound before…"

"Sir?" Jones looked up, "You know what that thing is?"

"I hope to god I don't," Dallas answered, "Because if I'm right, there's going to be hell to pay when this thing hits the beaches…"

Meanwhile, high overhead at over forty thousand feet altitude, a specially designed private Lear Jet was winging its way towards Okinawa at close to the speed of sound while the single passenger on board was reading a confidential memo.

The light flashed at his desk console, causing him to look up as he adjusted a pair of bifocal glasses, then touched a button and said, "Yes, Janice?"

"Sir," the lady pilot of his private jet replied, "There's a call for you on your private line. I believe Mister Richardson himself is trying to contact you."

"Put him through," the man said as he leaned back in a massive patent-leather chair, steepling his fingers as he reverted to a gruff-voiced reply, "Magnus, you old Frog-kisser, what can do for you this time?"

"Legion," replied a distinguished looking gentleman of indeterminable age who appeared on the liquid crystal monitor display of the desk, "I'm sorry to disturb you without prior notification of my intent…"

"Why break from pattern?" the big man sitting in the chair replied as he inclined his head, "Get to the point, Magnus. I'm a busy man this century, and time is money in case you haven't noticed."

"Indeed," the other man replied without sounding the least ruffled by the big man's gruff manners, "In fact, it is because you are in the area that I thought you were the one to notify concerning a little…crisis that seems to have come to my attention."

"What is it this time?" the big man snorted, "Another outbreak of Aliens? You know that crowd living at that Shrine got the green light from Ariel…"

"I'm afraid it's nothing so simple," Magnus paused as though for dramatic effect, although the man in the Lear Jet knew for a fact that his longtime friend simply spoke that way when giving the bad news to any of his allies or free agents, "It's the Morpheus Project…"

"What?" the big man sat up in his chair and gripped the desk with massive hands that looked as though they could splinter the wood without much effort, which was far from an exaggeration, "You mean Monster Island? What have those clowns done this time?"

"I'm afraid they've been compromised," Magnus explained, "One of the subjects began acting strangely earlier in the day, then they reported that it just got up and walked out of the containment area, doing several billion dollars worth of damage to the equipment in passing."

"Was anyone hurt?" the big man asked reflexively before chiding himself over the stupidity of the question, "Scratch that…how many people and how badly?"

"Actually, the reports indicate that there were few casualties on this occasion," Magnus explained, "In a manner of speaking, we seem to have been lucky."

"Except that one of their Indians has just wandered off the reservation," the big man snorted, "Which one…or should I ask?"

"Think of our worst-case scenario," Magnus replied, "That should produce your answer."

"HIM?" the big man exclaimed, then swore to himself using adjectives that were even older than himself and the man whose image he was addressing, "What the hell is wrong with those people down there anyway? How in the name of Prometheus did they drop the ball like that? We had redundant security measures! Layer upon layer of countermeasures, a defense perimeter that's held up for decades…"

"All of which appears to have been wasted in his case," Magnus replied, "He seems to have walked right through laser and electrical defenses as though he did not even feel them. Observers reported that he seemed to be acting in a rather single-minded way as though driven by inner forces the likes of which we cannot hope to comprehend."

"Yeah, well…what else is new?" the big man said in disgust, "I never much liked the creep anyway…he cost a bundle just to feed, and talk about your nightmares giving him shots and nursing him through head colds…"

"Reports have come in marking him as on a direct path towards Tokyo or one of the outlying areas," Magnus replied, "We think he may be visiting his old nesting grounds, as he did the last three times…"

The big man covered his eyes, "That's all we need! The press will have a field day over this…"

"That is something else I wanted to warn you about," Magnus said with clear reluctance, "MIB appears to have expressed its own interest in the matter."

"What?" the big man almost lurched up from his seat, even though doing so would have brought his head in contact with the roof of the cabin, "What's their interest? They don't think this does have something to do with Aliens? Terrestrial Monsters aren't exactly in their jurisdiction."

"They believe that their interests may be compromised if this becomes a full scale crisis situation," Magnus replied, "Can I count on you to oversee operations at your end?"

"Like I've got a choice?" the big man snorted, "MIB, that's just great! Those Neuralizers of theirs always give me headaches. I'll take the case, Magnus, just make sure I've got sole exclusive jurisdiction over this crisis."

"I'm certain I can rely upon your judgement," Magnus replied, "I am allocating all resources and manpower you might request…"

"Have them on standby, ready to move when I give the go-ahead," the big man said, "I'm going in for a low-level recon by myself, so make sure everybody gets clear the hell out of my way. I'll let your people know when I need the back up."

"I am counting on your discretion," Magnus replied, then broke the connection.

"I'm gonna have to remember to buy you something really nasty for your five hundredth birthday, chum," the big man snorted, then spoke into his intercom again, "Janice, change of flight plan. Take us into the nearest free airport space you can find in the Tokyo area and get us clearance for an unscheduled landing. We've got a little unfinished business down there that needs taking care of."

"Shall I have a limousine ready for you when we arrive, Mister Steinberg?"

"No thanks," the man smiled, "This case needs a special touch. Once we land I want you and Sayuri to unpack the Monster…"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Nurse's office, Ryo-chan?" Akane asked with concern, "If you're not feeling very good…"

"I'll be all right," Ryoga lied, trying to hold the contents of his stomach in place in spite of the very loud protest currently being made by his intestines, "Honestly, I just ate a little too fast…"

"You don't have to lie for me, Ryoga-kun," Akane sighed, "I guess I'm not a very good cook…"

"Don't say that!" Ryoga protested, taking the hands of the girl sitting next to him with an ease that would normally make him giddy, "You tried so hard to make me that lunch and I won't hear anyone make fun of you or say that you're wasting your efforts! I know it's just a matter of time before you're as good a cook as your sister, Kasumi. Don't give up on yourself, please, I...I couldn't stand it..."

"Ryo-chan," Akane looked up into his brown eyes, feeling herself drown in their luminous depths as she wanted to cry and laugh at one in the same time. Instead she glanced to one side and said a very annoyed, "What the heck is that?"

"Huh?" it took Ryoga a few seconds to shift mental gears, and then he heard the screams and yells coming from just outside the gym as they turned to see people running past the door to the gymnasium, which was not that unusual an occurrence at Furinkan, but considering the time of day it was running a little early.

"What do you suppose is happening now?" Akane asked as she got up on impulse, "Oneechan is probably involved somehow. She's usually either in the middle of these fights or off to the side taking bets from the stragglers. C'mon, Ryo-chan, let's go find out what's up."

"But…" Ryoga reached out for her, dismayed that yet another intimate moment had escaped his grasp, then he sighed in futility and said, "Wait up for me, I'm coming…"

"This is nuts!" cried Hercules as he and Thor went toe-to-toe in the schoolyard, "We're too evenly matched, we're only doing more damage to the real estate than we are to each other!"

"Then stand still so I can make like a Kingmaker!" Thor snarled, rearing back to hurl his hammer once again, "I'm gonna crown you!"

"I've had enough of this, nonsense," Hercules grumbled, "You're pushing it, old buddy, now it's time to reap the payback."

One of the advantages in being a full God, Hercules had early come to realize when at last he had joined the Pantheon on Mount Olympus, was that the range of your senses was greatly magnified beyond that of any mortal being, so it was mere childsplay for him to sense the water pipes buried several feel under the ground virtually at his feet. He thrust one hand into the soil as though it offered no more resistance than loose talcum powder and snatched up one of these pipes, pulling it up to ground level so that the spray that would normally feed the automatic sprinkler system was instead directed in the face of the enraged God of Thunder.

The results were near instantaneous, and a moment later Hercules tied off the pipe and smiled with hands on his hips as he looked down to his waist level, "Now are you satisfied?"

"Baaaah!" retorted the angry creature before him.

"Hercules!" a familiar voice called out, "There you--hey! Where'd Thor get off to?"

"Oh my," another voice said as the Goddess Sif stopped in her tracks to stare at the Billy goat that was just then reacting to the sight of her as might a deer caught in the headlights, "Algonquin? Is that you, my poor baby?"

"Algonquin?" Urd repeated slowly as she watched the blond Asgardian approach the tremulous horned and four-footed creature before turning a questioning look in Hercules's direction.

The Olympian made a motion to stifle her next question, turning to look as Sif lifted the goat into her arms and hugged it to her chest as she cooed over the wide-eyed beast, who looked stunned to be nestled within her generous cleavage as she made soft noises of an intimate and heartfelt nature.

"You mean…?" Urd started to say.

"Yeah," Hercules replied, "That's him all right, the old Goat."

"And she doesn't suspect?"

"Evidently," Hercules replied, "Of course, Thor made me swear not to tell her. She thinks he's just a supernatural creature like the goats that pull his chariot. I think the idiot is just too macho and embarrassed to own up that he has a little problem with getting wet and turning into the pet she keeps near her bed when she's sleeping."

"But isn't she his wife?" Urd asked in mounting confusion.

"You obviously don't know much about their relationship, or who really wears the pants in that family," Hercules snorted, "The macho jerk. Well, enough of this mucking around, I'm on a tight schedule, so back to monster chasing…"

"Oh, that's what we came to tell you," Urd replied, "Some mortals lured it into one area of the building and are keeping it at bay. We thought we'd find you both so you can go corral it."

"Some mortals, huh?" Hercules smiled, "Well, people can be pretty resourceful when you give them half a chance. Good thing for them it's only just been born or it'd be a lot harder to deal with. I just hope nobody is fool enough to try feeding the sucker."

"Ah…" Urd blinked, "Why? Is that bad?"

"You haven't been dealing with monsters as long as I have, babe," Hercules sniffed, "The last thing you want to do with a newly hatched creature like that is give it a good meal. I sure hope it isn't the people-munching kind, though…those kind of get nasty."

"Ah, yeah," Urd blanched, "I kind of see your point. Why don't I just show you where it is and we'll leave the happy couple here for the present."

"Oh dear," Sif seemed to suddenly take notice of the hammer laying almost at her feet as she picked it up with one hand, "What's this doing lying around here? It's not like Thor to drop it and forget all about it. I wonder what happened to him, Algonquin?"

"Baaah!" the goat in question answered.

"Ah," Urd hesitated for a third time, "Is that, like, a permanent condition? Is he going to be cursed like that for all eternity?"

"Naw," Hercules said dismissively, "Only lasts a century, that's practically nothing. C'mon, let's go find this monster before it really gets hungry…"

"Oh my," said Beatrice as they made their way down the corridor to the cafeteria, "I guess whatever did this wound up in here."

"Gee, you think?" Aiko snorted, "Brain the size of a planet and you come up with this kind of brilliant deduction?"

"There's no need to be sarcastic, Alison," Beatrice replied, "I was just offering an observation."

"Aiko," Aiko said, "Why do you keep calling me Alison? You know I stopped using that name when we were still kids…"

"If you didn't want to be reminded of it, you should never have told it to me when we were-oh my!"

Aiko blinked as she saw what had captured her companion's full attention. She had to blink her eyes twice to be sure she was not imagining things, then she said, "What the heck is that?"

"At a guess, I would say it was distantly related to the Iguanidae family," Beatrice replied, "Although an upright variety of the…"

"Upright?" Aiko said dubiously, "Not at the moment!"

"Shhh!" called Ukyo, who was presently stroking the upper ridge scales atop the head of the massive creature, which presently was sprawled out beating its tail contentedly on the floor like a giant puppy, making a soft wuffing sound of contentment.

Beatrice approached Nabiki, who was standing off to the side amid a pile of chewed up and discarded boxes with the words "Fishcake Patties" on their sides. She looked around at the signs of general havoc then murmured, "I take it we missed most of the action?"

"Not by much," Nabiki replied, indicating the giant reptile, "Junior here just gorged his fill and collapsed the minute we ran out of food to feed him…"

"Fishcakes?" Aiko asked with an uplifted eyebrow, "You fed him frozen fish patties?"

"It's all we had," Nabiki shrugged, "But it seems to have made him happy."

"Happy," said Ranma with a bland expression, "Um…excuse me for asking, but doesn't he look a bit bigger than he was before?"

"You're right," Perfume agreed at his side, "He's now six meters from nose to tail…a good two meters longer than when he was chasing you before."

"You mean he's growing?" Ukyo asked with a mildly surprised look of her own before she shifted her hands to massage a different part of the creatures scaly head, "You poor baby…you ate so much, and now it's affection your metabolism."

Aiko gave the Okonomiyaki chef a dubious look then asked, "What's with her?"

"It seems Junior here has developed a certain attachment for Ucchan," Nabiki smiled, "I always thought her personality was magnetic but this is a new wrinkle."

"Ah," Beatrice said in comprehension, "You mean imprinting? This creature has identified your friend, Kuonji-san, as its mother?"

"Well, sort of a mother," Ukyo called out quietly as if afraid to disturb her "baby." "He may seem like a frightening monster at first glance, but he's really a big softy once you treat him the right way. He just wanted something to eat after having just been born, and can you blame him? He's got a stomach the size of a cow."

"That's some stomach," Perfume said dubiously, privately thinking to herself that the creature could make a meal of her Ukyo and not even dent the appetite that had polished off a dozen boxes of fish cakes.

"What exactly is this thing, and what is it doing here?" Aiko wondered.

"That is the obvious question," Beatrice replied as she took a few steps forward, "I would hazard to guess that this is what emerged from the object you both found in a cavern, the thing that bore the glowing signet letters that you read as 'Typhon?'"

"You mean this thing is the monster from those old legends you were telling us about?" Ranma asked.

"Ranchan," Ukyo gently chided, "He isn't a monster! Just look at him, he's as gentle as a baby."

"Some baby," Perfume noted in the same tone as before, "How big will he get when he's full grown?"

"Another very interesting question," Beatrice remarked as she slowly walked around the slumbering creature, "Hmm…from its basic size and dimensions I could theorize quite a bit. I see gills, which implies that this creature is an amphibian, and granted that it must weigh close to fifteen hundred pounds it must have an internal source of heat production, meaning that it is not a true reptile in that sense. I would dearly love to make a more thorough study of the creature, but biology is not really my forte, and it would require a full specialist to make the proper diagnosis of its condition. However, given what little I do know about such animal physiology, I am prepared to make one specific observation…"

"What's going on here?" Akane asked as she and Ryoga arrived, as did one other.

"Look out, Ucchan!" Ryoga cried, thrusting himself in front of Akane, "It's a monster! I'll protect you!"

"What goin' on here?" said Principal Kuno as he took in the mess that surrounded the gathering of students about the creature, "Why're you kids not in class, and what is that?"

"Ah, sir?" Nabiki started to say, "This really isn't the time for lengthy explanations, suffice to say that we have the situation under control…"

"Sempai!" Ryonami appeared with a nervous Gosunkugi at her back, only to come up short at the sight of Principal Kuno.

"No runnin' in the halls either," Kuno frowned, "Somebody better start explainin' something pretty quick or you all goin' to detention, kiki, and what is that thing anyway?"

"Oh, you mean our new school mascot?" Nabiki said with an innocent expression.

"Mascot?" Ranma repeated with a queasy look.

"What the heck is that thing?" Akane demanded, "And why is Ukyo treating it like a pet?"

"Beats me," Aiko said as she walked up to the thing to study it from closer inspection, "You said something about Typhon? Wasn't he one of the last of the Great Titans or something?"

"Not just any Titan, Aiko," Beatrice replied, "The titan sent by the Earth Mother herself to punish man and gods for their many offences against her and her children, but this is not quite the original Typhon we are dealing with here, rather this is related to that Typhon, possibly even a descendant, though I…"

Before she could finish her exposition the creature suddenly stirred to life, turning its massive head towards Aiko, and then snuffing the air as if in suspicion. All at once it gave out a frightful cry and started to rear back, thrusting its head through the roof as it rose to its full height of seventeen feet.

"Watch out!" Ranma cried, though his voice was drowned out in the sudden shower of plaster, wood and metal caused when the creature began tearing its way out of the cafeteria, heedless in its flight of anything and everything in its path, though it did seem to take the time to circle around Ukyo, who stood where she was staring at it with dismay, right before Perfume tackled her out of the way of a falling metal girder.

Everyone not frozen in place by the suddenness of these occurrences either dove for cover or grabbed someone else near to them and tried to escape the collapse of that portion of the building. Meanwhile, the creature continued on its way until it burst out the side of the building and began to lumber off school grounds, creating a big hole in the gates as it found its way to the Furinkan financial district.

Hercules and Urd arrived just a few seconds too late to prevent this disaster, though they were in time to hear Principal Kuno remark, "School mascot, huh? What was so wrong with the old one?"

"Sempai!" Ryonami tried to rush forward to find her beleaguered hero but was grabbed by Gosunkugi, who said, "It's too dangerous in there! You'll get hurt, Ryo-chan! Wait until everything is settled!"

"Bloody hell," Hercules groaned in dismay, "This is all the fault of that hammerheaded moron! Now I'm really gonna hear about it back home!"

"Shouldn't we, like, do something?" Urd remarked with a dubious expression.

"Keep your shirt on," Hercules replied as he took a step forward, "I was just on my way…"

The rubble before them suddenly shifted, then an entire section of debris rose up as if magically as a redheaded girl held half of the fallen roof over her head, exposing everyone else who had managed to take shelter beneath her.

"Aiko?" Beatrice looked up from where she stood huddled with Nabiki and Ranma.

"Harmless, huh?" Aiko snorted, "Face it, Beiko, you'd never get anywhere without me to watch after your back."

The redhead effortlessly tossed the debris to one side, then moved over to where the steel beam was propped and bent down to lift that over her head, exposing two other figures from under a pile of plaster and wood, one of whom was stirring and seemed relatively unhurt, but not the other.

"Per-chan?" Ukyo blinked as she sat up, then in greater panic, "Per-chan!"

"Is she all right?" Ranma asked as she and Nabiki came over to their side.

"I don't know," Ukyo frantically searched Perfume, who lay huddled into a ball, "Per-chan, speak to me! Are you hurt? Please tell me!"

"She doesn't seem too badly hurt," Nabiki began to say, then stopped herself with a faint look of dismay, "Except for that…"

They all saw the wooden splinter that had been driven into one of the Amazon's thighs, which had rendered the hypersensitive girl into a state of such numbing pain that she had gone into a fetal pose to try and grapple with the shock to her system. Akane and Ryoga began to pick their way forward while Gosunkugi released his grip on Ryonami and followed her to the side of Nabiki.

Hercules, on the other hand, remained stock still where he was and Urd saw his haunted expression before asking, "What wrong, guy? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"I just about have," Hercules said numbly, staring at the redhead in astonishment, "That can't be who she looks like…"

Nabiki turned from the near-catatonic Perfume to look questioningly at Aiko then gave Beatrice a studied look, "Your friend here's pretty talented."

"She has her moments," Beatrice replied, "What is the problem with your friend? That injury looks bad but it is largely superficial."

"Per-chan's got a problem dealing with pain," Ranma replied, "Can't shut it out like most people."

"Indeed?" Beatrice raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtfully at the girl, who refused to respond to Ukyo's pleading, "Perhaps I might be of some assistance here…"

"Are you a paramedic?" Akane asked her.

"Not exactly," Beatrice said as she looked around at the floor, then knelt down to pick up a piece of sharp glass and said, "But like Alison, I do have certain talents."

"Oh man," Aiko winced, "Don't tell me you're gonna…man, I hate when you do this!"

"Do what?" Ukyo blinked, then gasped as she saw Beatrice draw the shard of glass across her palm, slicing it open.

"Alison," Beatrice said as she cupped her hand, "Please remove that splinter from the girl's thigh. It is necessary to remove the obstruction if I am to heal her."

"What am I, your bloody slave or something?" Aiko started forward when Ukyo spoke up, "I'll do it!"

With that the Okonomiyaki chef placed a hand on the wooden shard and leaned forward to murmur, "Forgive me, Per-chan, I know this is going to hurt you…"

With one quick, clean motion she pulled the shard loose, which finally got a reaction out of Perfume, who gasped in even greater pain and seemed almost to faint as Ukyo let go of the shard and clutched her tightly.

"Hold her steady for a moment," Beatrice said as she knelt down and placed her bloodied palm over the wound, smearing it over the equally bloodied fabric and thus mixing her blood with that of the Amazon, "Very soon she will begin to feel relief flooding her system."

"What are you talking about?" Akane asked her, turning to see the disquieted look on Aiko's face, "How is blood going to help Perfume?"

"It's kind of complicated," Aiko replied, giving a glance towards Beatrice, "Beiko's blood has got something in it that'll make your friend all right in another minute."

"Indeed," Beatrice said as she held out her bloody palm, which now they could see was no longer bloody as the wound had healed over to form a pink scar, which same began to fade another few seconds later until it was no longer visible, the blood having disappeared as if absorbed back into the skin from whence it had emerged.

"As you can see," the silver haired girl remarked, flexing her hand to show that it functioned like normal, "Alison's assessment is accurate. My blood has special properties, and has had them since an experience that occurred a short time ago while we were on an adventure."

"I'll bet that's quite a story," Nabiki said in dry understatement.

"Indeed," Beatrice looked down at Perfume, who had come out of her catatonic state to blink her eyes while Ukyo clutched her tightly in her arms, then both looked up at the silver haired girl with astonished expressions as she asked, "Feel better?"

"What did you do?" Perfume asked numbly, looking down at her own thigh, which was no longer in agony as she experimentally flexed it.

"Nanotechnology," Beatrice replied, "My body is sustained by a microminiaturized enzyme that replicates my DNA at a fantastically accelerated rate, insuring that I can regenerate even serious injuries so long as the damage is not too extensive. I assigned a few thousand soldier drones to examine your wound and make repairs according to your baseline genetic structure."

"I've heard of Nanotechnology," Nabiki said simply, "Trouble is what you're describing is way more advanced than anything on Earth…"

"Correct," Beatrice replied, "Anything on the Earth, but the Earth is not where I obtained it."

"This all very interestin'," said Principal Kuno as he joined them, "But kiki mind telling the big Kahuna why we got a sun-roof where we used to have a kitchen? This your idea of showing school spirit?"

"Ah, not exactly," Nabiki replied, although she privately thought that the majority of students and faculty in Furinkan would heartily concur with the improving angle, "We just had a little pest control problem, something that got a bit bigger than we thought we could handle…"

"Mind if I ask where that creature was going in such a hurry?" Ranma asked, turning to Aiko, "And why'd it react that way around you?"

"Hey, don't look at me like it was my fault!" Aiko reacted, "I don't know what got into that thing, it just seemed not to like me…"

"Not you, Alison," Beatrice remarked, "I believe the creature reacted on an instinctual level to your presence because of what you are, not who you are. I believe ancestral memory is at fault here…you represent a source of great pain and discomfort dimly remembered which is why it sought to get as far away from you as it could manage."

"But why?" Akane asked as everyone looked at Aiko with questioning expressions, "Why is it so afraid of you?"

"Not Alison," Beatrice turned to glance off to where no one else had been looking until that moment, "But someone whom it has cause to fear as greatly, isn't that right, sir? By the way, if you want to avoid attention try not standing out in the open."

"Huh?" Aiko whirled around, "Who are you talking…who are you?"

"Ah…" Hercules came out of his daze as everyone else turned to look in his and Urd's direction.

"Uh oh," Urd remarked at a low level, "Busted. Think we should do a fast fade?"

"I said who are you?" Aiko advanced several paces then froze, "You…look kind of familiar…"

"He ought to be," Beatrice replied, "After all he is your grandfather…"

Continued

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